Video: Kenny Florian retirement on 'UFC Tonight'

The stars came out to wish Kenny Florian a happy retirement on Tuesday’s new edition of “UFC Tonight” on FUEL TV.

Florian, a cohost of “UFC Tonight,” announced his official retirement from the sport this past weekend prior to The Ultimate Fighter Finale.

On “UFC Tonight,” with training partners, coaches, family and friends weighing in during a surprise retirement video, Florian was all smiles.

Check out the embedded clip to the right.

With his fighting career now over, Florian will focus on his UFC broadcasting duties, which include color commentary at this weekend’s UFC on FX 3 event.

Florian (14-6 MMA, 12-5 UFC) first debuted with the UFC in 2005, when he was a middleweight runner-up on the groundbreaking first season “The Ultimate Fighter.” In fact, UFC president Dana White first discovered “Ken-Flo” when he saw him during a 2005 scouting trip for Drew Fickett, who ultimately defeated Florian via close split decision in a regional show. White, though, was impressed and offered Florian a spot on the show anyway. Despite his small size for the division, Florian made it to the tournament’s finals, where he ultimately lost to Diego Sanchez.

Florian, who spent most of his career in the lightweight division, ultimately competed in four different weight classes during his 17-fight UFC career. His final two came in the featherweight division, where he admitted to grueling weight cuts to make the 145-pound limit for a final but unsuccessful title run.

From 2005 to 2010, Florian went 11-2 with 10 stoppages. The only losses came to Sean Sherk and B.J. Penn, the first two of three eventual title fights. However, he posted wins over the likes of Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout, among others, during non-title bouts.

The Massachusetts native and former Boston College soccer player remained a fan favorite throughout his career, and he has been a go-to ambassador for many UFC ventures.